Good News, Bad News

Bad news first: After all of our debate over the menu, it CHANGED!! It’s spring, not fall folks. No mimosa salad; no butternut risotto.

The good news: dinner was still fabulous!

The husband and I got there early and went for a 15 minute walk around the neighborhood (a new one we haven’t spent much time in) before we settled down for a glass of wine.

We shared a glass of the Farmhouse White Blend from Oregon – perfect on a warm day!

MY OTHER RECIPES

Dinner started with the Goat Cheese + Beet Slaw Salad. I split it halfway with my mother in law. The “bread” underneath is fried bread. It tasted like fried dough from the State Fair. SO GOOD! I ate half of one. And half the goat cheese round. And half the beets.

I also had half of one of the husband’s fried green tomatoes with prosciutto, mozzarella and honey and olive-orange tampenade. OH my gosh – so good!

With dinner: medium bodied fruity glass of Garnache.

Three Generations!!! That’s GranBett on the left 🙂

For dinner I ordered the Seven Spanish Angels: Seared Salmon with Spice-Roasted Fingerlings, Baccala, Capers, Escarole and Chimichurri. Absolutely fantastic, but drenched in butter. I probably ate 70% of this and shared the rest with the husband.

The husband had Trout Chantamy: Carolina trout, crawfish, baby artichokes, shitake & English peas with creamy marscapone polenta and tarragon oil. I had two big bites (we do a LOT of sharing in our families!)

I’m actually not full at all. The portions were small enough and I took long enough to eat, but I’m sure I consumed my fair share of calories in oil and butter (and broiled sugar cream!) tonight. But I’m proud of myself for not stuffing myself and sharing my dishes. I ate lots of bites, but not enough to make me uncomfortably full, which is how we should all enjoy splurge dinners like this. I am quite thirsty – a sign I probably drank too much (1.5 glasses is “too much” for me!) and as well all know, restaurant food is usually heavily salted.

Too bad there was no butternut risotto! 🙁 It sounded so good! However, it all looks yummy anyway!

Although I’m not a hot dog fan (at all), you inspired me to try some chicken sausage. I got some chicken feta & spinach sausage at the market today to have for dinner soon…I’m pretty excited about it! 🙂

ahhh… if only 1.5 glasses were too much for me! instead 1.5 leaves me wanting more! love it (wine, that is).

anyway – looks like fun, kath! I wish my final exams period allowed me freedom to go out to dinner – but law school finals are kinda intense (boo – we’re talkin 12 hours a day chained to the desk!!) Guess I will live vicariously through you for now! 🙂

Oh wow! that all looks so yummy.
i had mushy-mexican tonight (no choice, i had to go for a meeting…). it was a rip off and left my palate completely unsatisfied. thank heavens for my dark chocolate stash.

by the way—i typically LOVE mexican food–“mushy mexican food” is my term for americanized, bland “mexican” food made with canned ingredients, 0% fresh ingrediants and probably costs $0.50 to make and costs $10.00 to eat.

Looks amazing, Kath! It makes me want to go out to dinner .. NOW! haha. It’s been a few weeks since my fiance and I had a fancy dinner like yours tonight. I love it! I never really have self-control like you, though, and definitely do overstuff myself 🙁

You know, I saw that the file name said ‘Menu Fall 07’ and I thought about saying something, but it slipped my mind at work (you know, that thing I do in between reading KERF and ELR). 😛 Looks delicious, anyway!

Um sorry… wasn’t trying to be obnoxious by saying I was “first”, i just noticed that no one else had commented when i read kath’s post and mentioned it jokingly.
guess I wont do that again if it really bothers people. 😛

Does anyone eat closer to the 3000 calorie range per day?? I am pretty tall and alot of people on blogs and such are a whole lot smaller so I feel like I eat so much compared to them, or even my friends. I usually probably have around 2800…I was sick last week and didn’t really have an appetite and ate less and feel I am consuming even more now to make up for that (like my body is craving it) I am trying to listen to my body and not feel guilty for the binges, but it’s so hard! Hopefully I am not th eonly one who has dealt with this…I wish I had your willpower KATH!

Sometimes I eat between 2000-3000 calories for weeks at a time and I’m only 5’2″ and around 120-130 pounds–I tend to fluctuate in that range!

I find that my body does compensate for the times that I eat too little, so I think it is perfectly fine that you are eating that much–like you said you were sick!

If your food is spaced throughout the day and you are eating when you are hungry that is totally healthy–If you consume 2000 calories in one sitting, that isn’t healthy but if it is a total reached from over the day, I think you are fine!

It is hard not to compare your own needs to others, but really, you can only glean so much from other peoples’ personal dietary needs! Listen to your body and I think you will be just fine!

Excellent looking dinner, no butternut risotto is a darn shame though! And mimosa salad? that just sounds irresistible. Those oil and butter calories will kill ya. They don’t fill you enough at the time to feel full.

lauren,
i’m 5’10 and 135 pounds. i am a big runner and run for 5 – 7 miles a day. i eat at least 3000 calories a day and usually more. that’s what i need to maintain my weight. if you are tall and active, 3000 calories is definitely not excessive.

No, 3000 is very normal, especially if you are tall or active… or both! Your body knows what to do for itself more than media and the diet industry! Besides, it’s not about willpower, its about listening to your body – I wish I were more like you and did that!

Kath – looks delicious! Like you I’m a big fan of ANYTHING containing goat cheese! Um, and luckily (or unfortunately?) my bf is greek and consuming goat cheese is second nature so I get to enjoy it a little too much ahha.
I know how you feel about the spring menus! That is one thing I am not looking forward too in the summer is the lack of my favorite veggies and dishes which tend to be a little ‘winter-heavy’!. Plus I eat soups and my oatmeal concoctions on a daily basis, and in the heat I don’t feel like them anymore! Sigh, I will miss them for a few months.

ppp ,
I think kale is the least bitter of all the greens. Collards are definitely bitter, as are mustard greens, but the kale chips aren’t bitter at all. Enjoy!

Clara ,
I think 99% of us laughed at your post – no worries 🙂

Nick,Those oil and butter calories will kill ya. They don’t fill you enough at the time to feel full. = SO TRUE!!!!!!!!! I felt kind of sick last night. Not volumetrically full, but full in other ways, when I went to bed.

Jill ,
You can have him this weekend – it’s going to be a partying one and I sometimes would rather someone else babysit him during these events!!

Oooh I hate it when menus change on you! But at least you still managed to find something you like 😀
And wow that’s a big slab of salmon! I don’t think I would have been able to finish it either! But it still looks tasty though~
I’m impressed that you were able to resist stuffing yourself with all that delicious looking food! I have this bad habit of eating even though I’m not feeling that hungry D: I think it may have been ’cause my parents always told me not to waste food so I end up finishing my plate even though I’m stuffed…X_x

You know, I was wondering about that menu, when I checked the website and it said “Fall Dinner Menu” – too bad the restaurant didn’t update the website! :0( Despite that, you definitely DID have a fabulous meal!! And I LOVE the name of your dinner – “Seven Spanish Angels”… has such a lovely ring to it! :0)

Lauren – I am 5’9″, slim and active, and I maintain on over 2,500 calories a day. If I ate like most of these bloggers, I would be too skinny, tired and bitchy. Ha! We’re all so different, so if your body needs that number of calories, feed it and feel lucky – we get to eat more food!!!!! 🙂

as for requiring more calories, I think 3,000 is totally reasonable if you are tall and active. I think it becomes an issue if someone was eating, say, 2,000-3,000 calories in one sitting, like in a binge-eating episode.
but if the calories are from good healthy food and spaced throughout the day to fuel your activity level then great!
Just listen to your body I think – if you’re at a weight you’re content with, just eat whatever amount lets you maintain that and feel good 🙂